Over the last 20 years, recycling programs have developed throughout the United States and internationally. However, once the "recycled" material is placed at the curbside or brought to the recycling center, what happens next? Researching and describing recycling was the project aimed at providing first-year engineering students a "window on research". The students were tasked to develop a poster document and presentation to use to inform community policy makers and citizens on the recycling behavior in Massachusetts. Project objectives were to introduce students to the technical and non-technical aspects of recycling and/or reusing waste materials as well as to introduce students to the "process" of research. This paper describes the "Windows on Research" advising program used at Tufts University and the specific case of a research project on recycling in Massachusetts used in the program. Research process and results are presented, and the show that simple relationships between community and recycling characteristics may not adequately explain recycling behavior. This paper also discusses issues involved in using aspects of community-service to increase student interest in participating in research at this early stage in their academic careers.
展开▼
